Radioactive Man - Luxury Sky Garden

Radioactive Man - Luxury Sky Garden
Keith Tenniswood is a pillar of London's electronic music underground. After learning his craft as an engineer in Sabres Of Paradise's studio, he made music alongside Andrew Weatherall as Two Lone Swordsmen, one of UK electronica's most protean acts, whose output spanned techno, dub and psychobilly, among other things. The Haywire Sessions, held at clubs like fabric and Fortress Studios, brought the likes of Richie Hawtin and Mathew Jonson to perform alongside Tenniswood and Weatherall. The records on the Control Tower label he ran with Simon Brown, AKA The Dexorcist, merged twisted electro and techno with sucker-punching bass. He continues to play an essential role as a mastering, recording and cutting engineer at Curve Pusher.

His solo project, Radioactive Man, is grounded in electro, and on his fifth album Tenniswood focuses on it as tightly as ever. The style comes in many shades here. "Begone, Vile Creature" and "Fountain Of Wine" are driven by gut-level sub-bass that would make the trip-hop artist Dave Tipper feel queasy. The frostbitten soundscape of "Deep Space Habitat," in contrast, feels almost weightless. "Sonic Portal" and "Serving Suggestion" both ape a classic Detroit sound. The roughshod beats and spacey synth of "Jetstream" resemble a lost '80s bleep techno track.

That Tenniswood never gets boxed in by the electro sound is thanks to his agile beat programming. "Blast Furnace" is the heaviest track here, but it flows more like mercury than molten iron. The drums on "Steve Chop" feel live, loose and ineffably funky, and jungle breakbeats near the end give the track an even bigger burst of energy.

From the drum & bass touches on "Steve Chop" and "Jommtones" to the acid and hardcore influences on "Ism Schism," Luxury Sky Garden channels London dance music. Its foundations are deep in the city, but Tenniswood is aware that the landscape is shifting around him. The album title is taken from an advert for one of many exorbitantly priced apartment blocks springing up all over London. Luxury Sky Garden reminds us of the value of the spaces where this kind of music thrives.